Mexico’s president-elect Sheinbaum pushes judicial reform amid market fears

The president-elect has promised wide consultations with stakeholders in the judiciary ahead of the reforms.

Mexico’s president-elect has promised to push forward with constitutional and judicial reforms.

Claudia Sheinbaum, the country’s first female president, promised wide consultations on the reforms, signalling her determination to proceed despite concerns that have produced market volatility and hit the peso hard.

In her first news conference since being elected on June 2, Sheinbaum left a meeting with outgoing president and close ally Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to tell reporters that she remains steadfast on her promise of a constitutional overhaul.

“These are reforms that can be approved among the first reforms,” she said, noting that one of the first moves planned would see appointed Supreme Court judges replaced with popularly elected officials.

Some lower courts will also be affected and key regulatory agencies could be eliminated. Critics have warned that the reforms would fundamentally alter the balance of power in Mexico.